Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - A multi-state trucking company with a Michigan City terminal abruptly went out of business last Friday, leaving at least 35 local employees without jobs.
Charles Byers, 48, Michigan City, was one of them.
He's been a trucker with Mid-States Express, based in Aurora, Ill., for more than 12 years. He was at the company's Indianapolis terminal when a former employee called about a corporate memo just issued.
Byers turned over a copy of the memo to Michigan City police when he filed a theft report at 11:10 a.m. Tuesday. He told The News-Dispatch that, as a taxpayer, he wanted the city to do something about what he considered illegal actions taken by a company doing business here. He first contacted city attorney John Espar, who told him to take the matter to police.
According to the police report, the memo was issued by Steve Hartmann, one of the owners, at about 1:45 p.m. March 26.
Hartmann said, "Our primary lending institution has chosen to cease funding the operations of Mid-States Express, Inc."
He also said the bank wouldn't fund the payroll, but attorneys were working on getting funding "sometime next week."
The company issues weekly paychecks for work completed two weeks earlier. Byers expects his last five paychecks to bounce.
The Mid-States Express Web site posted a March 27 closing date, and calls to corporate headquarters have not been returned. The company had 26 facilities located in nine states and about 750 employees.
Earlier in March, the company posted an announcement that, because of "higher than normal costs of service." it was closing service areas in North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Northern Minnesota and Western Missouri "to remain competitive." At that time, service was to continue in seven other states, including Indiana.